vampires modernes

I am still posting really old things from a few weeks ago (yikes!) but now that classes are over, I can finally catch myself up. 

I try not to freak out when I plan food for road trips. It's quite obvious (or it should be) that I am obsessed with planning, especially when related to food. Here are things I try to consider when packing food for trips:

-How long is the trip? - You need to consider just how much food you need to have handy. Also make sure to pack plenty of water!
-What needs to be used soon? - Look in your fridge: what food will go bad while you're out of town? Use whatever you would be throwing away a few days later. 
-What's quick and uses less dishes? - No one wants to be stuck doing dishes right before they leave town. If you really want to be ahead, make your meals the day before, so all you're doing the day of is packing them up or assembling them. Also be sure to pick something that doesn't take a lot of time because you will need this time to pack (because I am a late packer!).

This brings me to my #1 choice for roadtrips: wraps. Sandwiches can be a little messy but wraps hold themselves together, especially when foil is involved. I chose these chickpea salad wraps from Heidi's 2nd cookbook because they're filling, flavorful and have vegetables! Make these for your next roadtrip //Dinner du Jour (originally Heidi Swanson)

How to make a really good pina colada:
-Buy this stuff and this rum
-Follow directions on the bottle of coconut cream
-Be amazed and how delicious and easy that was!

I found Pimm's at an ABC Superstore at the beach...so Pimm's o'clock obviously!

The sound view from our beach house

I remember this being one of the first dishes I made a couple of years ago, when I actually started cooking. This meal is easy to pull together, filling, and amazing doused in hot sauce and nutritional yeast (like most things). I always try to encourage myself to try different dishes from the food I love (Mexican, Italian, Vietnamese, etc.) and expand my horizons a bit. Start with this recipe for polenta rancheros with cumin seeds and black beans! //Vegetarian 'Ventures

After being at the beach for almost a week and indulging in snacks and blended cocktails, we needed a detox...a detox with lots of vegetables. I found this delicious, easy salad recipe with yellow squash, swiss chard, and chickpeas with a basil dressing. It sounds boring but trust me, this is just what we both needed. Just a bowl of vegetables with beans. It's really crazy how much better we felt after eating this for a few days. //In Pursuit of More

Remember what I was saying above about expanding horizons? This is another one of those dishes. Stir-fried black rice with ginger fried tofu and kale. I really loved this with sriracha on top, but I can never gauge my relationship with fresh ginger. It's hard for me to find a balance with what is enough or too much ginger. If you're not a huge fan of ginger, I would reduce it just a little bit. But this meal is still really good! It's always nice to branch out and use different grains other than plain rice or quinoa. //Whole Living

One thing that has changed around here lately is the ridiculous amount of smoothies we've been making. Maybe it's the weather or the strep I was dealing with for a few days, but I find myself making them more than a few times a week. This one is one of my favorites and I really hope you will try it! Don't let lime juice with almond milk scare you; it works fine!

-1 C almond/coconut/vegan milk
-juice of 1 lime
-1 heaping cup of frozen strawberries
-1 frozen banana

Blend + serve, adding more milk as needed. Top with coconut flakes! //Noms For the Poor

No matter how sick I am or what it is, I will only eat soup. The thought of eating canned soup all week while I had strep made me feel even worse. So with joint effort, Mike and I pulled this soup together so neither one of us would have to eat processed crap. My mom has made this soup before and I love it because of how comforting it is. It's incredibly easy but it's delicious and filling. It only has a few basic ingredients like stock, carrots, a TON of celery (hence the title of chunky celery soup), potatoes, wild rice, onions and garlic. That's really it. Eat it with toasted, vegan buttered bread if you can chew stuff like that while sick. I ate this for days and never tired of it. //101 Cookbooks

By the looks of this post, I have been cooking my way down memory lane lately! I remember this being one of the first dishes I made in my apartment. Yeah, I get nostalgic about this kind of stuff. I've posted this before, so if you haven't made it by now...do it. I am obsessed with squash and zucchini so this recipe is obviously a favorite. Coriander spiced chickpeas, tomatoes, zucchini, lots of garlic and red onions. I could eat this for days. This pairs perfectly with white jasmine rice. //Martha Stewart

(810) elbow grease + high heels

Today marks one more month until my birthday! I am too excited for words. Just went to get my dress taken in today and got some heels. I know it's going to be awesome! This week has been filled with French studying, Othello, and a critical theory essay (lovely). Fall break is coming up in about a week, which I'm obviously looking forward to!

Leftover tomato butter onion sauce from the weekend on pasta. I added vegan cheese and white wine to the sauce this last time. Seriously the most delicious pasta sauce on the planet! I suggest you all make it! The recipe is in the last post before this one.

Nothing makes me happier than finding wholesome, delicious meals that take minutes to make. This consisted of steamed broccoli, baked potatoes, Franks red hot sauce/butter/onion smothered chickpeas and vegan jack cheese. I don't think I need to explain how delicious this was. I suggest you go make this right now. 

I thought it was impossible to find vegan/GF burgers, but I finally found some! these are awesome and can be found at Whole Foods.

I finally made homemade hummus and I have to say, nothing has been easier or more delicious! I only used 1/2 C pumpkin puree and 1 heaping C chickpeas so mine was spicier but still amazing! I will be making be a sandwich with this tomorrow. I got this recipe from one of my favorite little blogs: noms for the poor. 

I am infamous for trying new things in the kitchen as much as possible, so I made homemade vegan cashew cheese to use in these black bean + scallion quesadillas. They paired perfectly with avocado and salsa, and the cheese was easy to make (and pretty cheesy too!). Quesadillas have been one of the things I've missed being GF/DF but these were amazing!

Using my crock pot for the first time!

Finished product: vegan hot and sour soup from The Vegan Slow Cooker Book. This is the first thing I've ever made in a slow cooker and from this book, obviously, and I'm very pleased! I love that Kathy has steps to do the night before so that in the morning, all you do is throw it in the slow cooker and let it go! I love hot and sour soup, and obviously have missed it since being GF. I also hate mushrooms (I know, weird) but these are chock full of them. They become tender after being immersed in a spicy, sour broth for 8 hours and I loved them for once. The tofu is also incredibly soft, which I love. I cannot wait to make this the next time I get sick. 

Traditional Southern GF/Vegan breakfast: polenta grits with vegan butter and salt.

I rehash the word "simplicity" every time I make a new post. Garlic slathered toast. Fried egg. Salt and pepper. Foamy vegan butter swirled with lots of red wine vinegar and salt. Poured over egg+toast. Served with lightly dressed mesculin greens. //Casa Yellow

The birthday heels! I think they're perfect and will be for years to come!

Vegan Hot + Sour Soup (from The Vegan Slow Cooker)
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-8 oz bamboo shoots (about 1 C) julienned
-8 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed + sliced
-10 oz sliced mushrooms (I used baby bellas)
-1 (15 oz) package firm tofu (silken or not), drained + cubed
-4 cloves garlic, minced
-2 T fresh grated ginger, divided
-2 T vegan chickeny bouillon cubes (I used Edward + Sons)
-4 C water
-2 T GF soy sauce
-2 T rice vinegar
-1 tsp toasted sesame oil
-1 tsp sriracha/chile paste
-1 1/2 C frozen peas
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THE NIGHT BEFORE: Store the first five prepared ingredients in an air proof container in the fridge over night. Store the ginger in a separate container in the fridge.

IN THE MORNING: Put all prepared ingredients in the crockpot (4-7qt). Add water, 1 T ginger, bouillon, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, and sriracha. Cook on low for 8 hours.

A few minutes before serving, stir in frozen peas and remaining 1 T of ginger. Taste broth and add more vinegar as needed. 

Serves 4

(663) too little time

if it isn't already obvious, I have been quite busy and a little under stress lately. I am having a bit of a problem with managing my time properly between three extremely challenging, fast-paced, and work-loaded courses. I'm just thankful that I only go to class four days out of the week. I am just always tired for whatever reason. I try to drink black tea, take naps, even go to bed early but it doesn't help much. I'm sure it will get better soon! I also will be trying to exercise again soon.

organic refried black bean tostadas with homemade pico de gaillo on sprouted corn tortillas (Cookie + Kate)

caramelized onion soup with fresh thyme and vegan jack cheese toasts (Tamar Adler via Everyday Food)

curried spinach and tofu (instead of paneer) over jasmine rice (Martha Stewart)

gnocchi/new favorite sorbet/organic local zebra tomato

Bubo 2010 Zinfandel

Bohemian Highway 2009 Merlot

Big House Red/Tracker's Crossing Shiraz/Bubo Cabernet Sauvignon

baked strawberry oatmeal (A Cozy Kitchen)

 I found out that I don't like gnocchi. sweet potato gnocchi with a lemon-thyme butter sauce

vegan chocolate sorbet

I also found out that I don't like dandelion greens because they are far too bitter. chickpeas with dandelion greens (Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Everyday)

Rigby makes everything better